


Roof

by screechyschreech



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: 3rd Quarter Quell, 75th annual hunger games, Anger, Anger towards Katniss Everdeen, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Peeta feels bad, Seeder and Enobaria are totally shipping it, enjoy lmao, fangirls!, victors au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28773777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screechyschreech/pseuds/screechyschreech
Summary: Cato and Thresh spend their last (and first) night alone on the roof before the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Thresh's POV
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark, Thresh/Cato
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Roof

The moment the words left President Snow's mouth, the entire room practically froze. 'The tributes will be chosen from the existing pool of Victors'. Liar. The man is a liar. He lied directly to us. He promised us that we'd never have to go in again! He's a lair! A bastard! I look over at my grandmother, who murmurs a prayer. I look over at my sister, who's rubbing her temples. Chaff is fuming with anger, which I understand. Seeder is crying. There were two other victors, who are watching in their own homes. That's fine. Fewer people to see. I go on a walk, to stop myself from breaking things. My mind drifts to Cato.

Cato won the 73rd Hunger Games, right after mine. We met at the victory tour. At first, we were just...civil, towards each other. Then, we sent each other letters a few times, back and forth. Those took a while, though, because we live in different districts. I'm in District 11, and he's in District 2. Then, we were both mentors in the 74th Hunger Games, which Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won. Cato and I were good friends by now, and we got to be angry together with them. He was also really upset with those games, because his best friend, Clove, was the last one, other than Everdeen and Mellark. She got eaten alive by mutts. It was horrible. Disgusting. I've never seen Cato so emotional in my life. He was this walking mix of anger, sadness, fury, and fear. I let him have his space, as I did _not_ want to be the target of that. That night, he cried. He sat in the District 11 apartment and cried. Seeder made sure he didn't make himself sick. I wrapped an arm around him, and surprisingly, he moved closer to me. He rested his head on my shoulder and cried. Then, throughout that year, we visited each other a few times and got closer. Around May, two months before the announcement was made, he kissed me. So, we started a little thing between us. 

Knowing that he's a very stubborn and rebellious person, he's going to volunteer. And if I confront him about it, he'll have a smug face and tell me that he did it for me and that he doesn't regret it. He's going to volunteer and follow me around like a lost puppy, and he'll be his stubborn, smug self, and I'll have to deal with it. Which is fine. I wouldn't mind that at all.

-

I was right. He volunteered. So did I. So now we're stuck together. But I don't mind. At the tribute parade, I look around for him. So does he. When we lock eyes, I can't help but smile. Neither can he. He shoots me a wink, and I melt. Seeder wiggles her eyebrows at me, causing me to laugh. After the parade, Cato rushes to hug me, and I wrap my arms around him. I feel like I'd suffocate from how tight he's holding me, but I wouldn't want it any other way. He kisses my cheek, and strokes my arms, while I stare at him in awe. I kiss his hands, and he grins so much I think his face hurts. I tell him I missed him, and that I love him. He doesn't respond, he just showers my face with kisses. He's slightly taller than me, but just by a few inches. The team from 12 walks by us and Cato stares daggers at them. He and Katniss get into an argument, and I swear, had Peeta and I not intervened, it would've ended with someone dead. So instead of beating Katniss and Peeta, he opted for a simpler approach. Flip them off as the elevator is closing. He should've given them a thumbs-down. I heard that hurts way more. 

We spend a lot of training together. I show him how to make fires, and make makeshift weapons, while he shows me how to use a sword. He shows me how to use swords, and knives, and things like that. We eat lunch together, with Enobaria and Seeder. I convince him to talk to 12 with me. He rolls his eyes but follows my lead. They're sitting by the camouflage. Peeta's showing Katniss how to do stuff. When she makes eye contact with Cato, she backs up. Luckily, Cato grabs both of their shoulders so they can look at us. 

"Everdeen," I say. 

"Morrowson." She responds. "And Hadley. What do you two want?" She asks, rolling her eyes. I see Cato tense up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"To talk to you two. We can't have a civil conversation like gentlemen?" I ask, tilting my head. Katniss scoffs. "Don't scoff at me. I want to have a conversation with you." I say, staring at her. Cato opens his mouth, but I send him a look that keeps him quiet.

"Fine. Whatever. What?" Katniss says, annoyed.

"I want you to know that this is your fault," I say, crossing my arms. She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, and listen, you two are fucking brats. If you hadn't pulled that stupid stunt, we wouldn't fucking be here. Clove could have fucking lived, and I wouldn't hate you. Fuck you. And fuck you too, Mellark. Fuck both of you. And your stupid fucking District, and your stupid fucking mentor, and your stupid fucking stylist, and your stupid fucking sister, and your stupid fucking sponsors, and every stupid fucking-" Cato starts, getting angrier and angrier with each word. I grab his hand and lean into him.

"Cato, go to the weapons. I'll meet you there in a minute. Take a minute, please." I whisper, and he looks at me like I'm insane. "Cato...please," I whisper. I see his face soften, and he turns around and walks off. I turn back to 12 and shake my head. "I love him. You know that?" I ask, and Peeta's eyes widen. He starts to talk, but I hold my hand up to stop him. "This isn't your fault, Peeta. It's hers." I say, pointing to Katniss. "He's going to die. Because he's not leaving that arena alone. Not without me. He's gonna die. And it's your fault. You took him away from me. And I'll never forgive you for it." I say. Without another word, I storm off to Cato.

-

The night before the games, I find Cato sitting on the roof, staring out into the world. I sit next to him, and without a word, I lean my forehead onto his temple. He looks at me, and I stare into his blue eyes. He does the same for me and takes deep, shuddered breaths.

"We're going in again tomorrow." He whispers, voice cracking.

"I know...I know." I respond, biting my lip. He looks down, and tries to blink back tears, and is successful, but I see the pain and hurt in his eyes. I wrap an arm around him and kiss his forehead. He takes a deep breath and sighs. "Cato, talk to me. What are you thinking about? What's wrong, darling?" I ask, rubbing his shoulder. He looks up at me and frowns.

"I don't wanna go in. I don't. Thresh, I only volunteered because I knew you would. And I have to protect you! Thresh, you don't fucking understand. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. I can't lose you. I need you, Thresh." He says, staring at me. We're face-to-face, and he presses his forehead to mine and stares at me. "Thresh, and you don't fucking understand how much I fucking love you. And it's all your damn fault! We could be in a home together, relaxing, and drinking beer and champagne, and eating chocolate together, and hell, I could fucking marry you. But instead, I have to be here, in this stupid building, on this stupid roof, having to worry about going into an arena to die tomorrow morning, and I know for a fucking fact that I'm not leaving without you. Even if that means I'm dying. I don't fucking care, as long as nothing happens to you, I don't fucking care what happens to me." He says, angrier than ever. He has to bite his lip so hard that a trail of blood runs out to not cry. He rubs his temples and looks at me. He cups my face with his hands and stares into my soul. "Thresh Morrowson. I love you. I love you so much. I promise that nothing will ever harm you. I promise. As long as I'm alive, I'll make sure that nobody hurts you. No one can hurt you. I'll protect you, as long as you stay with me. Please." He begs, on the verge of crying, again. I stroke his face, and sadly smile.

"I will. I promise." I whisper, and he nods.

"Thank you." He says tearfully.

"Hey...you can cry. I won't judge you. It's okay." I say soothingly. He nods and lets the tears fall down his face. He kisses me, and soon, I feel the need to cry. "I'll protect you as well, darling."

"Please...Thresh, listen to me. I'm scared. I'm fucking terrified. I can't bear the thought of losing you. I can't. I just want to sit here, and hold you, and kiss you, and never let go of you, but I can't. And it isn't fair. Life isn't fucking fair, none of this is!" He says. He chokes back a sob and buries his head in my chest. I stroke his hair, and lean up against a wall with him. 

"I know it's not. I know, honey. But it's okay. Because now, I've got you. You're safe with me. It'll be okay...I promise." I whisper, and he nods, whispering muffled words into my chest. We sit there for a few moments. His head buried in my chest, while I absent-mindedly stroke his hair, and gently rock us back and forth, to soothe him. He looks at me, and I wipe his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes. Everything about him is beautiful. His hair, his eyes, his face, everything. "How did you get so beautiful?" I ask, and he chuckles. _There's the smile I like to see_. 

"I don't know, baby. I really don't." He chuckles, causing me to smile. "I'd ask you the same thing." He whispers, placing one of his hands on my cheek. He relaxes by laying himself on my lap and resting his head on my chest and shoulder. It reminds me of the way my grandmother held me when I was a baby. I kiss his palm and place it over my heart. "Would you marry me, if we were in...say a different reality? Would you be my husband?" He asks, placing his palm on my shoulder. I nod.

"Yes. I'd love to be your husband. I'd take your last name. It sounds nice. Thresh Hadley. Wait...er, maybe Cato Morrowson. How does that sound?" I ask, looking at him. He smiles and nods. 

"I like it. What if we pulled a District 12, got out together, and lived happily ever after in a house? Alone. In the mountains. And we could relax, and sleep all day, and never leave each other's side. That sounds really nice, baby." He says. I laugh and kiss his forehead. He nods, and moves so he's sitting on my lap, and his arms are around my shoulders. "Do you need me to get off of you?" He asks, chuckling. I shake my head and kiss his shoulder. I tighten my grip around his waist. 

"No. I like having you like this. I like holding you." I say, and he grins.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna crush you. Here, I'll just move right next to you-"

"No. Please don't. I want you here." I whine, and he laughs, kissing my forehead. 

"Okay, whatever you say, my prince." He says. I kiss him and smile. We stare at each other for a minute, taking in the moment. Our first and last night alone together. "Can I tell you something?" He asks. I nod. "I remember seeing your games live. I thought you were really strong, and brave. I didn't really love you, or anything. I just...admired that. Then I went in, I knew how you felt. And then we became friends, and you know when I really started loving you?"

"When?"

"When I cried into your arms. The day 12 ruined it all. Yeah. That's when I realized that I loved you. And, I know it's corny, but I just...knew. You know? Of course, I didn't work up the guts to kiss you until a few months ago...wow. That feels like a lifetime ago." He whispers. I sigh and kiss his cheek.

"I know it does...I know, darling." I say, rubbing his back. "I feel like I always loved you. Like, even before I knew you. So when I met you, something...clicked. You know what I'm saying?" I ask, and he nods. He moves off of me and holds my hand. 

"Yeah, I know what you're saying. But I know I'll love you for the rest of time, baby." He says, squeezing my hand. I look at him and smile.

"I will too, darling. Don't you ever worry about me not loving you, because I always will." I say, and he nods. 

"Good. I'll be heartbroken if you ever stop loving me. Please don't." He whispers. I nod and stroke his knuckles. 

"I won't," I say. We sit in silence for a while, until Cato clears his throat. 

"Thresh?" He whispers. I look at him and raise an eyebrow. 

"Yeah?"

"The other night, I had a dream. With you. We were in a field full of flowers and birds, and there was nothing that could hurt us. We made each other flower crowns, and it was really pretty. I wish that was real." He says, and I imagine how beautiful that must have been. "I wish we didn't have to worry about dying tomorrow. I wish we didn't have to do this." He whispers while I lean my head onto his shoulder. 

"Me too, Cato. But hey, at least we'll be together. You and I. We could hide together. At the edge of the arena. They probably wouldn't want us just sitting there, though. But that's okay. I just don't wanna leave you alone." I say, stroking his arm. He nods, and sighs.

"I don't either. But hey, listen to me. I don't want you leaving my side. In fact, don't fucking leave my sight. Okay?" He asks, staring at me again. I nod and kiss his hand. 

"Okay. I won't. I promise." I whisper. I see him getting tense, and I hug him to try and fix that. "It's okay Cato...it'll be okay. Hey, I'm right here, nothing's happening, we're okay...it's okay, Cato." I whisper to him. He looks at me and strokes my face. I kiss his palm and smile. He pulls his hand away and looks at me. I notice he has a bruised hand, with practically purple knuckles, and I frown. "What's that?" I ask, pointing to his hand. He looks at it and shrugs.

"Nothing."

"What'd you do? Cato, what happened? Let me see it." I say, taking his hand. 

He looks down, embarrassed, and clears his throat. "I punched Katniss in the face earlier..."

"Cato! You can't do that!"

"Well, I did."

"God damn it, Cato. You can't go around punching people like that. You idiot! You must've got her pretty good..." I say, scolding him.

"I'm sorry, I was just mad." He whispers, looking down. I lift his chin so he could look at me. "But I'm not apologizing to her." He says, and I nod.

"That's fine. Your hands okay?" I ask, and he nods. I kiss his knuckles, and he faintly smiles. "Good. I'm glad. You just can't do that, darling. You'll get hurt, and I'll be upset, and we can't have that." I say, and he kisses my cheek. 

"I didn't wanna worry you..." He whispers with wide-eyes. I nod and hold his hands. 

"It's okay, darling. I'm not mad. I can't be mad at you, not right now." I say. He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder. 

"Thank you." He whispers. I kiss his forehead and bring him impossibly closer to me. We sit like that for a minute. The only thing that can be heard is our breathing. Cato suddenly looks up at me and crashes his lips onto mine. He wraps his arms around my neck, and presses his chest to mine, never breaking his lips away from mine. I pull away last and smile at him. He strokes my face and sadly smiles. "Thresh...you'll always love me, right?" 

"Yes. Yes, Cato, I'll always love you. I already told you, you don't ever have to worry about me not loving you." I say, and I see understanding dawn on his face. He nods and presses his forehead to mine. I grin, and he grazes my nose with his nose. I kiss him, and I feel him smile against my lips. "Cato, I think you'll do just fine in the games. You'll get a lot of sponsors because they love you..." I whisper, and he scoffs.

"No, people don't love me." He says, and I smack his head while keeping our faces together. He laughs and looks at me lovingly. 

"People do love you. I love you. I love you a lot, darling." I say lazily, pressing small kisses to his face. He hums and strokes my hair. 

"But you're not the capitol." He mumbles against my forehead. 

"But I can help you. I'll protect you...I'll keep you safe." I whisper, keeping up the lazy, but loving tone between us. 

He nods, and I kiss him while running a hand through his hair. "Mmm, I know you will, baby. And so will I. I'll always protect you. The most handsome man in the world." He whispered into my hair. I smiled and kissed him. "Thresh, I wish we had more time...I wish we could've spent more time together. What if we were in an alternate reality? Like, Panem never existed, and the games never existed, and we could've lived normal lives together and we could live together, and get married, and maybe even adopt a kid, and then we'd get old together, and now we can't, and it's all my fault!" He says, gripping my hand. I look at him and sigh.

"Darling. It's not your fault. It's Snow's fault, and Katniss'. Not yours. Please don't blame yourself. This won't ever be your fault." I say, in an attempt to calm him down.

"No, but one of us is gonna die, and it's going to be me but I don't wanna leave you alone, but I can't even imagine life without you anymore! I just...fuck." He groans, looking up.

"We'll always be together, Cato. It's okay. And you're right. I don't wanna leave you either. I really don't. But it'll be okay. No matter what happens, it'll all be okay. You'll always be mine, and I'll always be yours. Okay?" 

He looks at me and just kisses my hand. After a moment, he sighs.

"I think I should get going to bed. You should, too. You need to rest." He said, getting up. He holds out a hand for me, and I take it. I'm about to head to the elevator, but Cato stops me. He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my nose. "Thresh. I love you so much-"

"I love you too, Cato."

"I'm probably not going to see you until the games start, so listen to me. I'll be in the cornucopia, you come and find me. Then I'll protect you. Okay?"

"Okay," I say, and he nods. He hugs me and buries his head in my neck. "I love you, honey."

"I love you so much. Please don't let anything happen to yourself until I get to you. I can't lose you. Not tomorrow." He whispers. I nod and take a deep breath. He looks at me and kisses me with more passion than I knew he was capable of. After that, he gives me a sad smile and walks off. I suddenly fear for his life and mine. Dear God, let him be okay.


End file.
